As demonstrated in the work of McLanahan and Garfinkel (2001) most parents at the time their children are born express a desire to raise their children together however, this many times does not happen. The church and community stand in a unique position to empower and enable these parents to do just this through provision of support in the way of resources and assisting the supervision of these children while parents work to move themselves and their children out of the poverty bracket and into a position that brightens the potential outcomes for their children and themselves. It is not the suggestion of this writer that members of the community and church should necessarily dig into their own pockets to fund these efforts and this is not required as funds are available in the form of federal grants to assist these efforts. Therefore, it is critical that communities and churches work toward submission of grants for funding toward making these provisions within their community and service area. Furthermore, working in cohesion with local healthcare providers in coordinating education and information programs for low-income parents and their children is also key in this effort and specifically in reducing teen pregnancies and children born out-of-wedlock and in assuring that children receive the medical treatment needed to reduce diseases and conditions that affect the cognitive...

Parents who are in the class of the low socioeconomic status generally desire just as do other parents that their children receive a sound education and that their children have a chance to be self-sufficient and successful in their adult life however, these parents lack the needed resources do ensure that their children have the same chance as other children. The community, church and local healthcare providers are in a unique position to fill in this gap and to assist low-income parents in raising their children and ensuring that these children are provided with the same opportunities as children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Funding is available in the form of federal and state grant monies to assist and support these efforts.
Bibliography

Bladen, Jo, and McNally, Sally (2006) Mind the Gap: Child Poverty and Educational Attainment. Poverty 123, Winter 2006.

Chaikind, Stephen (1985) The Effects of Short-Term and Long-Term Poverty on Educational Attainment of Children. ERIC Digest. ED296017.

Danziger, Sheldon, and Haveman, Robert H. (2002) Understanding Poverty. Harvard University Press 2002.

Ferguson, HB, Bovaird, S. And Mueller, MP (2007) The Impact of Poverty on Educational Outcomes for Children. Paediatr Child Health 2007. October,…